A Wine-table is a late 15th-century device for facilitating after-dinner drinking, the
cabinetmaker
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...
s called it a "Gentleman's Social Table." It was always narrow and of semicircular or horseshoe form, and the guests sat round the outer circumference. In the earlier and simpler shapes metal wells for
bottle
A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stopp ...
s and ice were sunk in the surface of the table; they were fitted with
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
lids.
In later and more elaborate examples the tables were fitted with a revolving wine-carriage, bottle-holder or tray working upon a balanced arm which enabled the bottles to be passed to any guest without shaking. The side opposite the guests was often fitted with a network bag. It has been conjectured that this bag was intended to hold
biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
s, but it is much more likely that its function was to prevent glasses and bottles which might be upset from falling to the floor. That the wine-table might be drawn up to the fire in cold weather without inconvenience from the heat it was fitted with curtains hung upon a brass frame and running upon rings. Sometimes the table was accompanied by a circular bottle-stand supported on a
tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
into which the bottles were deeply sunk to preserve them from the heat of the fire. Yet another form was circular with a socket in the center for the bottle. Wine-tables followed the fashion of other tables and were often inlaid with wood or brass. They are now exceedingly scarce.
See also
*
Wine accessory
Wine accessories are things that may be used in the storage or serving of wine. Wine accessories include many items such as wine glasses, corkscrews, and wine racks.
Glasses
Wine glasses are a type of glass stemware that are used to drink and t ...
*
Wine tasting
Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...
References
External links
{{Wines
Tables (furniture)
Wine accessories